Heart to Heart
by taylortot
Summary: While doing rounds for the night, Sento and Kanie get locked in an unheated building, and are forced to wait out the chilly night together in the dark.


The nights were getting longer, the days shorter. Isuzu walked on Seiya's right, just behind him, as they crossed the park to the warehouse where the generators were stored. The staff member who usually kept tabs on the building had called in sick, and Seiya had simply been too busy with paperwork this afternoon to have checked on it before now.

"The temperature is dropping fast," he mused aloud. Isuzu looked at a family of five as they passed, huddled into sweatshirts that displayed the park's logo, no doubt heading for the exit. Closing time was five minutes from then.

The wind had picked up late this afternoon as the shadows began to deepen and slant severely across the concrete. Bringing attention to the weather made her shiver, and she realized that she was cold, too. She supposed it was time to take her coat out of the closet.

"Mm," she agreed quietly.

"Let's do this quick."

They could have been done by now had they taken one of the staff park carts, but she knew he'd been sitting all day and hadn't made the suggestion to drive when they started their walk. Isuzu stared at his back, feeling an unexpected, violent need to understand the strange tone of voice he'd been using since he showed up at work.

He was quiet today, a bit more stoic than usual. She couldn't see his face now but his shoulders were taut, the lines of him pulled tight like strings on a guitar. Things were going well at the park, so she wondered what else was bothering him. All day he'd given short answers to questions and avoided eye contact in favor of staring at the stacks of paperwork before him.

She was grateful when they reached the warehouse, just to have a brief reprieve from the cold cut of the wind. Seiya reached into his back pocket and brought out the ring of master keys. After unlocking it, he stepped back and held the door open, gesturing for Isuzu to enter first. It was only her stoic upbringing that kept the blush from her face, and she stepped forward into the stagnant, chilly air of the warehouse, flipping on the light switch without sparing it a glance.

Seiya followed her into the room, letting the door slam shut behind him with a heavy thud. "Let's start in the back."

"Mm," she replied, clutching the clipboard to her chest. The room was cavernous, and the generators were large. An aisle extended down the middle of the warehouse, machines towering up on either side. To far right, a staircase took you up to the maintenance booth tucked into the corner.

Seiya was still strangely quiet as they checked up on the machines, and Isuzu marked off the items on the checklist as they worked their way down. They finished quickly and she couldn't help but feel wistful as they started back toward the front of the room, still walking slightly behind him on his right side.

"Kanie-kun," she said, her voice soft, her breath turning white in the frosty air as she spoke, "are you alright?"

He stopped and she saw his clenched fists open and relax. The silence that followed threatened to drive her mad, so she stepped forward and examined his profile, the unreadable expression on his face.

"Fine," he finally mumbled, turning to look at her, his face telling her that he was everything but _fine_. "I'm fine."

She felt her distress levels rise but her face stayed perfectly placid. "Okay." Her gaze turned forward, wishing she knew exactly what to say to make him forget his pride and confide in her, but the words that came out were stiff and soldier-like, as they usually were. "We can call it a night from here. I'll type up today's notes and leave them in the staffroom. You should go home. Get some rest."

He still didn't look at her, and he didn't argue, as she had expected. "Okay."

Isuzu was beginning to hate that word, but she was clumsy with emotion and couldn't find anything else to say. She started toward the door first and tucked the clipboard under her arm. The cold was beginning to seep into her skin beneath the layers of her clothing and her stomach clenched in dread when the knob refused to turn under her hand.

"This door locks from the outside," she said as Seiya came up behind her. She looked at him over her shoulder. "I don't think we're going anywhere."

His mouth curled in irritation and he sighed deeply. "We should have told someone we were coming here." He held his wrist up, pushing his sleeve up to check his watch. "It's ten after. They must have locked it right at closing time." His sleeve fell back into place and he looked at her. His voice was still uncharacteristically hard. "Did you bring your cell phone?"

She leaned her forehead against the door. "No. Did you?"

"I wouldn't have asked you if I had." A twitch of superiority colored his words, and she was momentarily distracted by her thoughts. He always had his cell phone on him. She turned her gaze on him, mystified entirely by how bent out of shape he seemed to be. "Is there a back door?" he asked.

"They're all locked from the outside."

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard yet today; this place is a damn fire hazard." He leaned against the wall and brushed the hair from his eyes in a harried, frustrated movement. "Put that on the list of things to fix, Sento."

She jotted down a quick note on the clipboard and then turned her back to the wall, resting beside him, almost close enough to feel the heat coming off him. She pretended like she didn't feel it, like she felt nothing at all, because that was easy. Isuzu supposed that was all she was good for - making a list of things to fix. It made her angry. She wanted to be someone who could fix things, too, though she could care less about the fire hazard of the warehouse right now.

"We'll have to spend the night," Seiya said after a long moment, sounding as though nothing would be more distasteful to him.

There weren't really any other options, she knew. "Mm."

The silence stretched between them again, and she kept kicking herself for coming off as someone so terribly unattached, before he spoke up.

"It's going to get cold."

She looked at him, at the breath that came out in white puffs from his mouth, and felt the goose bumps rising up on her skin, felt her toes turn to ice cubes and her fingers to icicles. "Mm."

He met her gaze, his eyes intense as if he was trying to read her, before he dropped his head and sighed, pushing away from the wall and turning off the lights. The safety lanterns glowed dimly where they were lodged against the wall; she could see his silhouette as he began to walk away. She followed him to the maintenance room, which wasn't much warmer, as the heaters hadn't kicked in for the winter yet, but it felt safer. The floor had carpeting, and inside the locker in the corner, they found one uniform jacket hanging up.

Seiya yanked it off its hanger and tossed it at Isuzu, who was already lowering herself to the floor next to the wall. "Here."

It landed over her face and she pulled it off, settling it into her lap as she watched the shadow of him sink down beside her. "Don't you want it?" she asked.

"I'm not the one in a skirt," he replied casually.

She was glad it was so dim in the room, so he couldn't see the way his comment flustered her. Why did it make her heart beat so excitedly to think that he thought of her? That he'd probably looked at her legs? "Thanks," she said, surprised by the warmth in her own voice.

It must have surprised him, too. ". . .Sure."

Her face was hot, so she pressed her chilled fingers to her cheeks, staring down at her lap. This time, he was close enough that their shoulders were nearly brushing and she heard Seiya shift beside her, crossing his arms over his chest, folding his legs. She brought her knees up to her chest and draped the jacket over top of them, before settling her arms around them.

"You're not fine," she said, the darkness making her a little bit braver. "You've been upset all day."

". . .You noticed."

"I'm observant. Every soldier learns how to develop that skill in order to do their job at an optimal level. I'm not saying you have to explain what's going on, but you don't have to lie to me either." She tucked her chin in against her knees. "I'm your assistant, Kanie-kun."

"It's not my place to make people worry," he confided uneasily.

"You are a fool if you let your pride get in the way of reaching out for help," she answered, a bit harshly. "Everyone here is more than happy to support you, with whatever you need. Remember that."

Her heart flipped in a terribly exhilarating way when he unexpectedly chuckled, sounding more relaxed than he had since she saw him yesterday. He sighed, as if he was releasing all the tension in his body. "Are you angry?"

She stared hard at the carpet. "A little bit."

There was silence, and then, "That won't do."

His shoulder was suddenly there, pressing against her, and she had to press her mouth against her knees to keep her from making a startled noise. He was so warm. "I got a call from my old agent last night. She asked me if I would be willing to come back and appear on this new reality TV series about has-been celebrities competing against each other in some sort of survival show."

Her stomach suddenly tied itself up in knots and panic sat on her chest like a cat would, pressing uncomfortably against her. Did this mean he was leaving again? This time for good? "Are you going to do it?" Her distress was transparent and it was embarrassing.

"I don't know," he told her truthfully. She could see where it would appeal to him. The chance to be in front of the cameras again, his superiority complex fully fledged as he hashed out strategies and strived to be the absolute best in the competition. Everyone would fall for him the same way she did.

Isuzu leaned against him, returning her own warmth. "Would it make you happy?"

His gaze turned on her; she could only see his outline, but she felt the weight of his eyes on her and it made her feel a little bit warmer. "What?"

"I said, would it make you happy?" She almost added a sarcastic comment when he responded.

"You're something else."

What kind of insult was that? "Kanie-kun, I would like to remind you that both of my rifles are fully loaded and I have no reservations using them on you."

"No one has ever asked me what would make me happy before."

She blinked in astonishment at the turn this conversation had just taken, straightening up, making sure that their shoulders still touched. He sounded so. . .reverent. Did he have a fever? That wasn't like him at all. "Kanie-kun?"

"I don't know what would make me happy." It was amazing, how vulnerable the darkness made him. How real and strange this topic was. Seiya almost never talked about himself, and certainly never about something so personal and Isuzu was swallowing her heart to keep it from jumping straight out of her mouth at the fact he was sharing all of this with her. He made her feel so weak in the knees.

"Does the park make you happy?" she questioned, a bit forwardly.

There was something of a smile in his voice when he replied. "Why do you think I came back, Sento?"

"Mm." She paused. "I don't say things like this to inflate your ego, but Amagi Park would be nothing without you. You didn't just save Her Highness, but all of us. You saved _me._ And you deserve so much more than my thanks, which is why you ought to do what you desire most. Even if that means you leaving us again."

It was a long while before he answered, so long that she thought he'd fallen asleep.

"Sento, what would make you happy?"

She blanched, heart clenching. "Eh?"

"I won't argue with you on the subject of me being a great guy, because its true. But you are the most selfless person I've ever met and I'm not sure anyone but Latifa is aware of that. Do you ever put yourself first?"

She shivered, feeling flustered and thrilled all at once. "I-I'm a soldier, Kanie-kun. I'm here to protect Her Highness by whatever means necessary. I'm here to do whatever I must for the manager of Amagi Park, to be sure that he is successful. That is my mission. Whatever else belongs to me comes last."

His voice was quiet, soft. "Someone ought to take care of you for a change."

Her stomach was a cage of butterflies. "I am happy with my mission. I'd follow you and Her Highness into the darkest depths of hell and back and I'd be happy."

"That's foolish, you know."

"I don't care."

The conversation settled into a comfortable silence. Slowly, the warmth of Seiya's shoulder was no longer enough to keep away the chill of the unheated building, and an hour later, Isuzu found herself trying to stifle her shivers, the cold turning her into ice. He trembled beside her, too, and she wondered if it was going to get colder or if this was all they would have to endure.

"It's cold," Seiya observed.

"Mm," she answered.

His response was unexpected. . .and hilarious. "W-Well, logic dictates that we cast aside any reservations of invading each other's proximity and use our body heat to keep each other warm! I'm nothing if not a logical guy!" She was sure that if she could see him now, he'd be blushing furiously.

"Okay," she told him, though her heart was erratic with undiluted joy. To be this near to him was something of a dream. To have him suggest such a nearness could have been enough to make her faint.

He sounded incredulous with her nonchalant response. "_Okay_?"

"So, how do you want to do this, then?"

"W-What?!"

She sighed and scooted closer to him, glad that he would never see her embarrassment over this.

"How can you be so calm about this?.. . . .What are you doing?!" His voice shot up an octave as she slid herself onto his lap, pressing her shoulder blades back against his chest. "Sento?!"

"Shhh," she whispered as she turned sideways and wound her arms around him, under his armpits, and dug her nose into his chest. Her heart stuttered as she curled her knees up and she almost stopped breathing when he finally relaxed and reluctantly returned the embrace. His hands were hot where they held her, his warmth seeping through her clothes and straight to her skin. He was electricity and fire and excitement and her hands clenched at the back of his jacket of their own accord.

"Better?" she mumbled against his shirt, too embarrassed to look up, even if it was dark.

"M-Mm," he muttered, clearly still terribly out of sorts with the new arrangement.

Now that she was beginning to feel warm, she realized how tired she was, and closed her eyes. "If you decide that you want to take the job your agent offered you, you have my support," she said softly, sleepily.

"Hmm?" He still sounded wide awake.

"That job. Even if you leave, I'll still support you."

"Y-You don't have to go so far out of the way for me, Sento."

She shook her head, her nose rubbing against his shirt. He smelled good. Like the air freshener in the office and warm boy. "I want to support you, Seiya-kun."

He was silent, but she could hear his heart pounding in his chest and somehow, that made her light-headedly happy.

"It is alright, isn't it? That I call you Seiya-kun?"

"M-Mm. Yeah."

She woke up first. Light fell through the rectangular windows up high near the ceiling in a slant that told her it was still early morning. Seiya's arms rested around her waist loosely, his chest moving slowly and evenly under her ear. An indulgent smile stretched across her face as she closed her eyes and pressed her nose into his shirt. She'd be happy to stay here in this very spot all day.

Sometime during the night, she'd curled into his chest with her arms folded against her, but she wound them back around him again now, and let her fingers dance in subtle patterns against his jacket. It was still cold out, and the chilly air bit at all her exposed skin, but she didn't pay it much attention.

Her wandering fingers brought Seiya back to consciousness. He woke up gracelessly, groaning as he tried to comprehend where he was and what was going on. She heard his heart pick up slightly when he realized that she was still in his lap and pressed her cheek into his shirt.

"Good morning, Seiya-kun," she said warmly.

"M-Mm. Good morning, Sento."

She was surprised at how reluctant he seemed to be at moving, but nearly twenty minutes later, he looked at his watch and sighed. "The maintenance worker should be here any minute to unlock the door."

There would be another three hours before school started, so Isuzu felt inclined to extend him a courtesy she would have given to anyone else. "Afterwards, we can get your school uniform from the office and then you can take a bath at my quarters."

"I can go home for that," he tried to insist.

"Don't be stupid. School is closer to the park than it is your home. We'll take the bus together."

"Did you just call me stupid?"

She covered up her laugh by smothering her face against his chest.

They shared the same seat on the bus this time. For the first time. Isuzu sat in the window seat, electrically aware of Seiya's hand resting on the seat beside her, barely touching her own. Her thoughts were a mess, erratic, and she was trying to figure out the proper way to sort them back into their compartmentalized boxes when he spoke.

"I'm going to call my agent back and tell her I don't want to do the TV show," he said abruptly.

She snapped her head to look at him, curious. "Why not? I thought being on TV made you happy."

His reply was transparent. She could see all of him, in that moment, for maybe the first time ever, and it was this moment, she thinks, that she fell in love with him completely. "Amagi Park will fail without me - I'm the only hope any of you people have left! You'd better keep your promise, Sento. To hell and back."

Her smile was genuine and enthusiastic, and she didn't even try to hide it. "Mm. To hell and back."


End file.
